Fall is officially here, and I couldn’t happier. It is my favorite time of year, love the color of the tree’s and cool evenings and yes, even a bit of rain. I do miss the long-extended evenings that summer brings.
Book Club
Eight of us met at Linda W’s home, we had a great time picking books to read the next few months. Linda provided some great treats for our enjoyment. We will be meeting at my house, #303 on Oct. 8th. We are finally getting a chance to review Beneath a Scarlet Sky. A good book by Mark Sullivan. Let me know if you plan to come.
Traveling neighbors
John and Linda are off again to Palm Springs, I think they just want to extend summer a bit. I hope the high temperatures aren’t too much for them.
- Edy is off to London for work again, shortly after she gets back she will be heading to NYC. David you need to remind her what it means to “retire”
- Drake and Andrea took a tour of NE Canada, especially enjoying Quebec City.
- I’m off to Montana for a week to visit a niece.
- Betty is enjoying a bit of E. WA. with family
October Birthdays
- Kaare, David R. and Dawson celebrate birthday’s this month
Great Series on PBS
Jerry and I enjoyed a PBS series named Ancient Invisible Cities. This is a very interesting view of Athens, Cairo and Istanbul. The man who is the host a fellow named Dr/Professor Darias Arya. We were lucky to have him as our guide two different times when we were in Rome. At that time, he was working for a company named Context Tours. You can find the series here. http://www.pbs.org/ancientinvisiblecities/
Professor Darius Arya explores the hidden secrets of three of the most fascinating cities of the ancient world: Athens, Cairo and Istanbul. 3D scans allow us to view the architectural jewels of these cities as they’ve never been seen before.
From the buildings on the Acropolis to the silver mines and quarries beyond, he investigates the story of Athens, the city that gave the world democracy. He uses the latest scanning technology to reveal the historical secrets of Cairo and Ancient Egypt, and explores the Great Pyramid of Giza and the first pyramid ever built. Later, Darius takes us on an extraordinary journey through the treasures of Istanbul, Turkey. But with many of its secrets concealed or underground, he turns to the latest 3D imaging technology to see the city as no human eye ever could.
Recipes Du Jour- It is time for soups and braises
Mushroom, Barley and Beef Soup
½ C dried porcini mushrooms
1 C boiling water (soak mushroom in the boiling water for a half hour then drain, reserving the liquid and chop.
3 ½ C fresh mushrooms sliced
½ C chopped onion
½ C chopped carrot
½ C chopped celery
½ C chopped parsnips
2 cloves garlic minced
1 T. olive oil
12 oz beef stew meat
6 C low sodium beef broth
2 C water
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper
2 springs thyme
1 C uncooked barley
- Coat Dutch oven with cooking spray, sauté onions, and fresh mushrooms. Set aside
- Coat oven with more spray then sauté carrots, celery, & parsnips, add to onion mixture and set aside.
- Sauté beef until brown, add 1 cup broth and stir to loosen brown bits. Add remaining broth, chopped porcini mushrooms and porcini liquid and onion mixture + 2 C water. Reduce heat and simmer until beef is tender. Stir in barley and cook about 30 minutes or until al dente.
A simple desert using new season apples
Puff Pastry Apple Tarts
Preheat oven to 400 F
1 sheet puff pastry- thawed
2 7-8 oz. apples, I like honey crisp or golden delicious, peeled and cut into thin slices
3 T sugar
3 T unsalted butter melted
4 tsp honey
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment sheets
Roll out pastry on floured surface to a very thin 18 X 14-inch sheet.
Use a small plate as a guide, cut out 4 circles of the pastry, transfer to rounds to each sheet pan, cover and put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Position 1 rack in top third and 2nd rack on both third of oven.
Overlap slices from ½ apple on each pastry round leaving ¼ inch border. Sprinkle apple with 1 ½ tsp sugar then drizzle 2 tsp butter
Bake about 25 minutes- until apples are golden and tender. Drizzle with honey and cool for at least 10 minutes, serve with ice cream or whipped cream
Serves 4
Recipe from Epicurious.com
Tip Du Jour
Re-crisping limp celery
- Place celery in a jar of cold water, let sit for a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge
Peeling LOTS of garlic
- When you need lots of garlic, like in 40 clove Chicken, here is a easy way to handle the chore. Bring a pot of water to boil, blanch for a minute, let sit and cool and skins will slide of easily
New to the neighborhood
Sweet Pearl Bakery
641 NW Richmond Beach Road
Shoreline- Located across the street from the QFC
425 478 3789
We tried the cupcakes, we didn’t have much of a selection when we were there but the ones we picked were good.
Restaurant Review
The Lodge Sports Grille
8501 N Greenwood Ave,
Seattle
206-402-3046
https://www.thelodgesportsgrille.com/
They have a total of six locations around the area, from Mill Creek to W. Seattle
Brunch-Sat. & Sunday
Happy Hours
7 days a week 2-6 PM
Sun.-Thur. 9PM-close
Fri.-Sat. 10PM-Close
A friend and I had lunch here a couple of weeks ago, the food was good, can’t say the same about the service. The waiter was attentive until he gave us the bill then we never saw him again. I would go back and try it again.
It is on the Passport card-always a “good thing”
Enjoy the great weather if it lasts.
Also, you need to get prepared for a visit from Hobgoblins at the end of the month.